Building Your First Agent

Two ways to create an agent

Getting started

1. Open Copilot Chat (web, Teams, or M365 app)
2. Click “New agent” (or find it in the sidebar)
3. Choose your path:
   • Start from a template — browse available templates
   • Describe what you want — type a natural language description

Path 1: Start from a template

Templates give you a working agent to customise:

Template	What It Does	Good Starting Point For
Writing Coach	Helps improve written content	Content review agents, style guides
Meeting Coach	Prepares for upcoming meetings	Team meeting assistants
Idea Coach	Tracks tasks and timelines	Project-specific assistants
Custom	Blank canvas	Anything not covered by templates

How to use a template:

1. Browse templates → select one that’s close to your need
2. The template pre-fills instructions, capabilities, and sometimes knowledge sources
3. Customise: change the name, update instructions, add your own knowledge sources
4. Click Create

Path 2: Describe what you want

You can create an agent from a plain-English natural language description:

1. Type what you want: “Create an agent that helps new employees find answers about company policies, using our HR SharePoint site. Be friendly and concise.”
2. Agent Builder generates a draft agent based on your description
3. Review the generated configuration
4. Click Create — or switch to the Configure tab for fine-tuning

💡 Real-world: Dana builds the Oakfield Onboarding Agent

Step 1: Dana opens Copilot Chat → clicks “New agent”

Step 2 (Describe): She types: “An agent that answers new employee questions about Oakfield Healthcare policies. Friendly tone. Only reference the HR Policies SharePoint site. Suggest questions like ‘How do I book annual leave?’ and ‘What’s the dress code?’”

Step 3: Agent Builder generates a draft with:

• Name: “Oakfield Onboarding Assistant”
• Instructions: Based on Dana’s description
• Knowledge: HR Policies SharePoint site
• Starter prompts: “How do I book annual leave?”, “What’s the dress code?”

Step 4: Dana reviews, tweaks the instructions to add “If you don’t know the answer, direct the employee to HR@oakfield.com”, and clicks Create.

Time: 10 minutes. Zero coding. New hires now have a 24/7 policy assistant.

The Configure tab — your control panel

Whether you start from a template or a description, the Configure tab is where you fine-tune:

Setting	What You Control
Icon & name	Visual identity — choose an icon and give the agent a clear name
Description	What the agent does (shown to users who discover it)
Instructions	Detailed behaviour rules: tone, scope, limitations, response format
Knowledge	Data sources: SharePoint sites, files, web URLs, Copilot connectors
Capabilities	Optional features: code interpreter, image generator
Starter prompts	Suggested questions users see when they open the agent

Exam tip: The exam tests whether you understand the difference between the natural language description approach (quick creation) and the Configure tab (detailed manual setup). Both are available — describing is faster, Configure gives more control. Most users start with a description, then refine in Configure.

🎬 Video walkthrough

🎬 Video coming soon

Building Your First Agent — AB-730 Module 13

Building Your First Agent — AB-730 Module 13

~10 min

Flashcards

Question

What are the two ways to create an agent in Copilot Studio?

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Answer

1. Templates — start from a pre-configured template and customise it. 2. Natural language description — explain what you want in plain English and Agent Builder generates the configuration. Both lead to the Configure tab for fine-tuning.

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💡 Show hint

Question

What is the natural language description approach in agent creation?

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Answer

A natural language interface where you type what you want the agent to do. Agent Builder generates a draft agent configuration from your description. It's the fastest way to create an agent.

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💡 Show hint

Question

Do you need coding skills to create a Copilot agent?

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Answer

No. Agents are created using Agent Builder — a visual, no-code tool accessed from Copilot Chat. You use templates, natural language descriptions, and visual configuration.

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Knowledge Check

Knowledge Check

Raj at Peak Solutions wants to create an agent that helps sales reps answer product questions. He found a 'Product Expert' template in the agent creation wizard. What should Raj do?

AIgnore the template and describe the agent from scratch for maximum customisationBUse the template as a starting point, then customise the knowledge sources and instructions to fit Peak Solutions' productsCUse the template as-is without any modificationsDAsk IT to build the agent using Power Platform instead

Check Answer

Knowledge Check

What is the relationship between the natural language description approach and the Configure tab when creating an agent?

AThey are two separate tools — you must choose one or the otherBA description generates a draft agent; Configure lets you fine-tune the details. You can use both in sequence.CDescribing is for simple agents; Configure is only for advanced usersDConfigure replaces the description approach — it's the newer version

Check Answer

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Next up: Your agent is created — now let’s configure it properly. Learn how to add knowledge sources, write effective instructions, and set up capabilities and starter prompts.